Entertainment

Grand Theft Apple: Steve Jobs Declared War on Android

It was easy to see that Steve Jobs wasn't a fan of Google or Android. But I'll admit, I was surprised by the pure vitriol he expressed toward the search giant's mobile OS.

It was Apple's commander-in-chief declaring war.

I have been reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs for the past few days. And while I will have plenty more to say about the in-depth look at one of the world's greatest innovators and entrepreneurs, I do think the subject of Jobs and Android deserves deeper exploration.

In the book, Jobs accuses Google of "grand theft" with Android — the Apple co-founder believed that the search giant's leadership "personally betrayed" him by stealing concepts like the app screen and multitouch. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt (who sat on Apple's board of directors until August 2009) had inside information on the iPhone, while co-founders Page and Brin looked to Jobs for mentorship.

"We did not enter the search business," Jobs told Isaacson in the book. "They entered the phone business. Make no mistake. They want to kill the iPhone. We won't let them."

Jobs, enraged as he talked about Google, went on to bash the company's famous motto. "I want to go back to that other question first and say one more thing," he said. "This 'Don't be evil' mantra, it's bullshit."

Just a few pages later, Jobs declares what is essentially a manifesto of war against Google and Android. His dying words to Apple's leadership is simple: Android must be destroyed, no matter the cost. They are words that will likely echo in the ears of Google's leadership for years to come:

"Our lawsuit is saying, 'Google, you fucking ripped off the iPhone, wholesale ripped us off.' Grand theft. I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go to thermonuclear war on this. They are scared to death, because they know they are guilty. Outside of Search, Google's products — Android, Google Docs — are shit."

A Declaration of War

Did Google steal any proprietary technology from Apple in order to build Android? There is no way to truly know — neither side is going to be objective in this debate.

The debate is a moot point, though. Jobs believed that Google ripped off Apple in the worst way possible, and now that sentiment is public knowledge. And while I doubt that will affect what phone consumers choose when they are at the AT&T or Verizon store, you can bet that everybody working at Apple will remember the dying words of their visionary leader.

It's that type of statement that will create an even greater divide between the two companies. It's the type of statement that will spark a bitter war between Google and Apple, because Jobs's words were nothing less than a declaration of war.

The war will only get uglier as Google closes in on Motorola. It's going to look like Grand Theft Auto — there are going to be bodies before this thing is settled.

The Social Analyst is a column by Mashable Editor-at-Large Ben Parr, where he digs into social media trends and how they are affecting companies in the space.

BONUS: The Life and Times of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs Life & Times

1955 - 1960s: Birth - Childhood

February 24, 1955: Steve Jobs is born in San Francisco. He is adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs.

1969: Jobs meets Steve Wozniak at Homestead High School.

1970s: Apple II

April 1, 1976: Founds Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne. Wayne would later sell back his stake in the company, after becoming skittish that Apple would succeed.

July 1976: The Apple I goes on sale for $666.66. The computer was a fully assembled circuit board, however, users had to provide their own case, keyboard, power supply and display. About 200 units were made, many with wooden cases.

April 17, 1977: The Apple II makes its debut at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco. In June, the system goes on sale. It becomes a huge success and helps kickstart the personal computer revolution.

1979: Jobs visits Xerox PARC and gets a glimpse at the mouse and the graphical user interface. Jobs immediately realizes that the GUI is the future of computing.

1980s: Macintosh / NeXT

December 12, 1980: Apple goes public. Its shares are priced at $22 and close at $29 their first day, giving the company a market valuation of 1.77 billion.

March 1981: Jobs becomes chairman of the board at Apple.

February 15, 1982: Jobs appears on the over of Time magazine.

April 8, 1983: Jobs convinces John Sculley, then CEO of Pepsi, to join Apple as its CEO. Jobs famously asked Sculley if he would rather "sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?"

Early 2000s: iPod

January 5, 2000: Steve Jobs drops the "interim" from his title and becomes Apple's permanent CEO.

May 2001: The first Apple retail store is opened. Within a decade, more than 300 stores would pop up worldwide. Apple also officially releases Mac OS X, its next generation operating system.

October 23, 2001: Jobs announces the iPod. Slashdot famously sums up the device, writing "No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame." The world would be proven wrong.

April 28, 2003: The iTunes Music Store launches for Mac users.

February 2004: Pixar and Disney appear to be at an impasse for future distribution deals.

August 2004: Jobs announces that he will be taking a short leave of absence to recover from surgery. He reveals that a cancerous tumor was found in his pancreas but that he is expected to make a full recovery.

January 10, 2005: The Mac mini is introduced.

June 2005: Apple announces that it is transitioning to Intel processors. This decision will make Apple a true competitor in the world of computer hardware.

Late 200s: iPhone

January 2006: Disney buys Pixar for $7.4 billion. Jobs gets 7% of Disney stock, becoming its largest individual shareholder and earning himself a seat on the board.

June 2006: Jobs's thin appearance causes concern at WWDC.

January 9, 2007: Jobs unveils the iPhone. For the next six months, it will captivate the tech world before its release. Jobs also announces that Apple Computer, Inc. will just become Apple, Inc.

June 29, 2007: The iPhone is released.

January 15, 2008: Jobs takes the stage at Macworld for the final time and introduces the MacBook Air.

June 2008: Jobs's gaunt appearance at WWDC again cause concerns over his health.

January 14, 2009: Jobs announces that he is taking a leave of absence to focus on his health. Tim Cook takes over as acting-CEO.

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